Laura Ashley is a retail company with c160 stores in its UK property portfolio. International business continues to be important for the Group, but its primary market is the UK. he Company decided to dispose of its commercial property in Singapore to SB (29NIR) Investment PTE. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Soilbuild Group of Singapore for a cash consideration of £30.3m. BDO acted as Sponsor to Laura Ashley for this class 1 disposal that will allow the Company to benefit from the reduction in financing and operating costs associated with the property. In addition, the Board identified a technical issue in respect of the payment of historic dividends. BDO acted as Sponsor on this related party transaction.
The BDO team, acting as Sponsor, played an important role in the transaction and provided great transaction management allowing for a very smooth process. I would have no hesitation in recommending BDO's public company corporate finance team based on this experience.
Seán Anglim, Joint Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director, Laura Ashley